The following is a long rambling opinion of mine written without previous notes and based on my reading and watching of multiple sources to find what I believe is true.
TL;DR: It's not Trump, it's the Left. Don't fall in to the Alt Right trap.
I think it’s fairly plain to see that although a very small portion of society, racists do seem to feel empowered in the time since the run up to the last presidential election. I don’t think calling it “Trump era racism” would necessarily be incorrect but I do believe it may be a little misleading. So, where did it come from?
In general, there’s been a rapid political shift in this country over the last decade or so. As Obama took office for the first term of his presidency there was a promise of new hope and racial unity in the nation. A promise that the oppressed or under privileged would be made equal, things that most would find to be acceptable causes. How do you argue against the oppressed and under privileged? As the Obama presidency moved forward conservatism became something that was pushed as uncaring or greedy. The far left fringes were emboldened as the Obama administration refused to denounce crimes and violence as the perpetrators were often considered to be part the “oppressed”. In essence, the campaign rhetoric has created a monster. A monster that wore a mask of social justice. A monster that defended itself through claims of self-defense, victimization, and worthy goals, and the defense extended in to the federal government. The monster isn’t a race, or a group of people, it’s a dogma, one which refuses to see or hear any views that might be counter to the goal.
It sprouted multiple heads which brought together typically inconsistent or competing ideas. Women’s rights groups would march beside pro-Muslim groups (Muslim being the stand in for Islam). Gay rights activists marching with BLM (blacks being the majority of voters to block gay marriage in CA). In the mainstream these groups pretend their goals are mutual in order to increase their numbers and strength, and when an issue arises in which there is conflict it is quickly swept under the rug by the head of the monster known as the main stream media. A story quickly forgotten as the details come out.
As this dogma of victimhood and oppression progressed in society and was supported by the government and Obamas Justice Dept, Conservatives became disenfranchised. Uttering the wrong word, or taking the wrong side in an argument meant being labeled as a racist, bigot, homophobe, transphobe, or a myriad of other “ists” and phobias. The very act of “being white” became a mainstream negative and worthy of criticism. The frustration on the right grew as the Republican Party seemed afraid to take on these issues and many claims once considered only hyperbolic became real leftist agendas. At the same time a young generation was coming up behind the millennial wave that seemed to make up a large portion of the monsters power. This young generation differed from the stereotypical conservative republican voter. They were young, high strung, and highly active on social media. The left had been considered the masters of social media for nearly a decade with it being widely considered a powerful tool in the Obama campaign that conservatives weren’t able to master. This younger generation was already ingrained in social media, and they had no issue with taking full advantage of it.
As the 2016 election got under way social media erupted in political debate. The young conservative/libertarian mass soon realized that it could have no voice without being labeled as some form of “ist”. As the left weaponized the claim of racism for a new generation, another small segment of the population took notice. The Left became so complacent in its labeling that it soon became difficult to differentiate who was actually racist and who was simply being called racist for disagreeing.
White Nationalist groups saw this and began to rebrand. They drew back the rhetoric and moved in to mainstream social media as the “alt right”. There were few direct links between the Alt Right and White Nationalist groups and the anonymity provided by social media made it easy to keep any connections from being obvious. The fact that the Left was labeling everyone as racist and demeaning whites with terms such as “white privilege” gave a cover for these groups as well.
As the Alt Right movement picked up steam it was also picked up in main stream media. News outlets began putting Libertarian and Conservative bloggers with no connection in to the Alt Right category in order to discredit their views. The tactic the left had been using for nearly a decade had suddenly become a recruiting tool for White Nationalist via the Alt Right brand. When the Alt Right faced criticism this muddy picture offered a counter argument. They could simply point at many, obviously not racist, examples of people who had been thrown in to their group either by choice or by a media outlet to discredit such claims. New terms were brought in to use such as “identitarian” which in and of itself doesn’t constitute a racist or bigoted agenda but is easily manipulated due to its naturally vague nature. For many frustrated young Americans, the Alt Right looked like the perfect fit. Appearing to side with freedom and constantly irritating the Leftist snowflakes. A Conservative movement with a loud voice.
Enter Donald Trump, often credited by the Left as the reason behind a rise in White Nationalist sentiment. He also had his eyes open as he prepared for a run at the Oval Office. He saw the resentment towards the agenda being pushed by the Left and an opportunity to take advantage of it. Unlike most politicians however, he had an advantage. He had no concern for political correctness. He played on both the disappointments of the Obama administration as well as the frustrations of the working like any other politician, but also the frustration of those who had spent nearly a decade being chastised for their views by a group unwilling to have a reasonable discussion on them. He didn’t embolden White Nationalists, he simply played the same game. Now the trolling of the young Conservative/Libertarian block had hit the national stage. Inflammatory comments were met with the same attention they had been given previously online, but now at the national level. The Republican party was fragmented with 17 candidates taking the stage in the primaries. As the race made its way through the states it quickly became apparent that Trump, who was really not all that Libertarian or Conservative, was going to be a strong candidate and eventually won out. Throughout the Presidential race Trump avoided being politically correct. The monster continued with its attacks of racism and bigotry in an effort to discredit him but had lost so much credibility itself that it only made him seem like everyone else for most Conservatives and Libertarians. At the same time, the true Alt Right saw him as an ally playing a game and proving their ideas had merit on a national stage. Going up against possibly the worst candidate in presidential history, and taking the side of the common man in a battle of ideology Trump walked away with a strong electoral victory.
When looking at the full picture of social ideology in the U.S. over the last decade it becomes clear the Trump era racism isn’t a product of Donald Trump, but the product of a monster created by the left in order to silence dissenting opinions. Donald Trump is simply a product of the same monster. The current boldness of White Nationalist groups is dependent on a large portion of Conservatives and Libertarians who aren’t racist but have been misled in to believing that the Alt Right is synonymous with “outspoken Conservative” and are wanting to fight back against the Left and Radical Left in their attempts to fundamentally change America.
So why did I waste a bunch of time typing all of this out? Because the Alt Right is NOT the movement of Conservatives and Libertarians any more than BLM is the movement of reasonable Black Americans. The Alt Right has its agenda and its roots in White Nationalism. It’s nearly impossible to sort out who someone is based on the Alt Right label at this point. Many have taken the label with pride unaware of who backs it, and many have been given the label despite the Alt Right showing disgust for the person (see Ben Shapiro). The Alt Right is not a product of Donald Trump, it’s a product of the Left calling everyone a racist bigot for nearly a decade. We must be aware of this as the Alt Right has the same power to grow in to a monster and take over the narrative. We must continue to fight to protect our rights and our history, but we must be careful not to allow the narrative to be controlled by a disgusting group whose views conflict with the rights we wish to protect. Sometimes the enemy of our enemy is our friend, and sometimes it’s just another asshole trying to take advantage of political and social division. White Nationalist numbers haven’t really grown, they are just out in the open hiding within groups of frustrated Americans who just want to live in peace but have been pulled in to the fight through constant attacks on their way of life. We must separate ourselves from the Alt Right before the Alt Right becomes a permanent part of Conservatism and Libertarianism.
TL;DR: It's not Trump, it's the Left. Don't fall in to the Alt Right trap.
Racism in the Trump Era
I think it’s fairly plain to see that although a very small portion of society, racists do seem to feel empowered in the time since the run up to the last presidential election. I don’t think calling it “Trump era racism” would necessarily be incorrect but I do believe it may be a little misleading. So, where did it come from?
In general, there’s been a rapid political shift in this country over the last decade or so. As Obama took office for the first term of his presidency there was a promise of new hope and racial unity in the nation. A promise that the oppressed or under privileged would be made equal, things that most would find to be acceptable causes. How do you argue against the oppressed and under privileged? As the Obama presidency moved forward conservatism became something that was pushed as uncaring or greedy. The far left fringes were emboldened as the Obama administration refused to denounce crimes and violence as the perpetrators were often considered to be part the “oppressed”. In essence, the campaign rhetoric has created a monster. A monster that wore a mask of social justice. A monster that defended itself through claims of self-defense, victimization, and worthy goals, and the defense extended in to the federal government. The monster isn’t a race, or a group of people, it’s a dogma, one which refuses to see or hear any views that might be counter to the goal.
It sprouted multiple heads which brought together typically inconsistent or competing ideas. Women’s rights groups would march beside pro-Muslim groups (Muslim being the stand in for Islam). Gay rights activists marching with BLM (blacks being the majority of voters to block gay marriage in CA). In the mainstream these groups pretend their goals are mutual in order to increase their numbers and strength, and when an issue arises in which there is conflict it is quickly swept under the rug by the head of the monster known as the main stream media. A story quickly forgotten as the details come out.
As this dogma of victimhood and oppression progressed in society and was supported by the government and Obamas Justice Dept, Conservatives became disenfranchised. Uttering the wrong word, or taking the wrong side in an argument meant being labeled as a racist, bigot, homophobe, transphobe, or a myriad of other “ists” and phobias. The very act of “being white” became a mainstream negative and worthy of criticism. The frustration on the right grew as the Republican Party seemed afraid to take on these issues and many claims once considered only hyperbolic became real leftist agendas. At the same time a young generation was coming up behind the millennial wave that seemed to make up a large portion of the monsters power. This young generation differed from the stereotypical conservative republican voter. They were young, high strung, and highly active on social media. The left had been considered the masters of social media for nearly a decade with it being widely considered a powerful tool in the Obama campaign that conservatives weren’t able to master. This younger generation was already ingrained in social media, and they had no issue with taking full advantage of it.
As the 2016 election got under way social media erupted in political debate. The young conservative/libertarian mass soon realized that it could have no voice without being labeled as some form of “ist”. As the left weaponized the claim of racism for a new generation, another small segment of the population took notice. The Left became so complacent in its labeling that it soon became difficult to differentiate who was actually racist and who was simply being called racist for disagreeing.
White Nationalist groups saw this and began to rebrand. They drew back the rhetoric and moved in to mainstream social media as the “alt right”. There were few direct links between the Alt Right and White Nationalist groups and the anonymity provided by social media made it easy to keep any connections from being obvious. The fact that the Left was labeling everyone as racist and demeaning whites with terms such as “white privilege” gave a cover for these groups as well.
As the Alt Right movement picked up steam it was also picked up in main stream media. News outlets began putting Libertarian and Conservative bloggers with no connection in to the Alt Right category in order to discredit their views. The tactic the left had been using for nearly a decade had suddenly become a recruiting tool for White Nationalist via the Alt Right brand. When the Alt Right faced criticism this muddy picture offered a counter argument. They could simply point at many, obviously not racist, examples of people who had been thrown in to their group either by choice or by a media outlet to discredit such claims. New terms were brought in to use such as “identitarian” which in and of itself doesn’t constitute a racist or bigoted agenda but is easily manipulated due to its naturally vague nature. For many frustrated young Americans, the Alt Right looked like the perfect fit. Appearing to side with freedom and constantly irritating the Leftist snowflakes. A Conservative movement with a loud voice.
Enter Donald Trump, often credited by the Left as the reason behind a rise in White Nationalist sentiment. He also had his eyes open as he prepared for a run at the Oval Office. He saw the resentment towards the agenda being pushed by the Left and an opportunity to take advantage of it. Unlike most politicians however, he had an advantage. He had no concern for political correctness. He played on both the disappointments of the Obama administration as well as the frustrations of the working like any other politician, but also the frustration of those who had spent nearly a decade being chastised for their views by a group unwilling to have a reasonable discussion on them. He didn’t embolden White Nationalists, he simply played the same game. Now the trolling of the young Conservative/Libertarian block had hit the national stage. Inflammatory comments were met with the same attention they had been given previously online, but now at the national level. The Republican party was fragmented with 17 candidates taking the stage in the primaries. As the race made its way through the states it quickly became apparent that Trump, who was really not all that Libertarian or Conservative, was going to be a strong candidate and eventually won out. Throughout the Presidential race Trump avoided being politically correct. The monster continued with its attacks of racism and bigotry in an effort to discredit him but had lost so much credibility itself that it only made him seem like everyone else for most Conservatives and Libertarians. At the same time, the true Alt Right saw him as an ally playing a game and proving their ideas had merit on a national stage. Going up against possibly the worst candidate in presidential history, and taking the side of the common man in a battle of ideology Trump walked away with a strong electoral victory.
When looking at the full picture of social ideology in the U.S. over the last decade it becomes clear the Trump era racism isn’t a product of Donald Trump, but the product of a monster created by the left in order to silence dissenting opinions. Donald Trump is simply a product of the same monster. The current boldness of White Nationalist groups is dependent on a large portion of Conservatives and Libertarians who aren’t racist but have been misled in to believing that the Alt Right is synonymous with “outspoken Conservative” and are wanting to fight back against the Left and Radical Left in their attempts to fundamentally change America.
So why did I waste a bunch of time typing all of this out? Because the Alt Right is NOT the movement of Conservatives and Libertarians any more than BLM is the movement of reasonable Black Americans. The Alt Right has its agenda and its roots in White Nationalism. It’s nearly impossible to sort out who someone is based on the Alt Right label at this point. Many have taken the label with pride unaware of who backs it, and many have been given the label despite the Alt Right showing disgust for the person (see Ben Shapiro). The Alt Right is not a product of Donald Trump, it’s a product of the Left calling everyone a racist bigot for nearly a decade. We must be aware of this as the Alt Right has the same power to grow in to a monster and take over the narrative. We must continue to fight to protect our rights and our history, but we must be careful not to allow the narrative to be controlled by a disgusting group whose views conflict with the rights we wish to protect. Sometimes the enemy of our enemy is our friend, and sometimes it’s just another asshole trying to take advantage of political and social division. White Nationalist numbers haven’t really grown, they are just out in the open hiding within groups of frustrated Americans who just want to live in peace but have been pulled in to the fight through constant attacks on their way of life. We must separate ourselves from the Alt Right before the Alt Right becomes a permanent part of Conservatism and Libertarianism.
